Health and Safety Archives - Page 2 of 7

Unleash the Lioness

Unleash the lioness: A Women’s Guide to Fighting Off Violent Attack
Houseman
1993

Submitter: I am submitting this 90’s scare style book for women. The book lets the reader know that because you’re a woman you WILL be a victim of crime. So buy this book and take down an attacker with an umbrella. Oddly, this is a UK book that was found on a shelf here in this American library. I am sure those numbers at the back are no good.

Holly: Our girl on the cover has an umbrella and she’s not afraid to use it! I mean, that’s pretty good resourcefulness.

Your monthly “friend”

December 14, 2021 Mary Kelly Health and Safety 13 comments

Menstruation
Just Plain Talk
Nourse
1980

All of the ladies probably remember that time in health class where the world of menstruation was explained. I remember that in 6th grade we had a boring film where girls in white pants told everyone how grown up they were. It was the white pants that made it realistic.

They always would play down symptoms such as debilitating cramps, bloating, mood swings, etc. and pass them off as “normal”. That’s just the life of a lady. Credit goes to this author who actually acknowledged that not everyone reacts the same way and that symptoms should be addressed by a doctor.

Ouch!

September 8, 2021 Holly Health and Safety 6 comments

Ouch! A Book About Cuts, Scratches, and Scrapes
Berger
1991

Submitter: The information in this book is fine, but it’s pretty visually dated and hasn’t been checked out in about 10 years. Mostly I’m chuckling over the extremely dramatic, unrealistic drawings of blood spurting from assorted wounds. Be sure to check out the images of the interior pages for that.

Holly: Not to mention the advanced vocabulary, like “fibrin” and “platelets.”

The Black Death

September 1, 2021 Holly Health and Safety 6 comments

The Black Death
Day
1989

Submitter: Other than the cover (is that E.T. wielding the scythe of death? Why is he not wearing any clothes? Why is the dead man on the ground smiling?), this book is actually not that bad, just really old. Old enough to be concerned that “AIDS may soon become as damaging as the plague once was.” The pages are yellowed, the illustration style is pretty dated, and there are plenty of good newer books on the topic available. At 32 years old, this book has had a full life.

Holly: All the people in all the pictures in this book look like Zombies.

The Silent Killer?

August 19, 2021 Holly Health and Safety 40 comments

Vaccination – The Silent Killer: A Clear And Present Danger
McBean and Honorof
1977

Submitter: I am wondering if other libraries are receiving donations like this. We have seen an influx of anti-vax books either emailed or dumped into our dropbox. This one is pretty scary!

Holly: I mean, come on, it’s 44 years old! Even if balance of viewpoints is important in your library, this is not the one. It’s missing 44 years of data that anyone would need to make their argument, whatever that might be. And (looks pointedly over my bifocals) let’s stick to a collection development discussion in the comments, please…

Women’s Health Today

May 11, 2021 Holly Health and Safety 11 comments

Women’s Health Today 2001: The Latest Breakthroughs for the Female Body
Prevention
2001

Submitter: This may not be horrible, but at 20 years it’s definitely past its prime. Not being a woman myself, some of the information looked questionable and so I asked my young work-study what she thought. She asked me who Debbie Reynolds is. Sigh… Now the gray hairs in my temples feel so much more prominent.

Holly: And, of course, half the book is about weight loss, age-proofing, and belly-flattening.

Miracle Mineral Solution

March 16, 2021 Holly Health and Safety 26 comments

Jazz Dance & Jazz Gymnastics: Including Disco Dancing
Fischer-Munstermann
1978

Submitter: We had the following come in as an eBook request that I have turned down. On the outside this book looked promising, and then I got to the part about giving kids a compound that the Food and Drug Administration warns amounts to industrial bleach. Were open to different opinions, but this is a big old Nope!

Cooking for your troubled tummy

February 4, 2021 Mary Kelly Health and Safety 8 comments

The Troubled Tummy Cookbook
Recipes and Diets
Roth
1976

Aside from the dumb title, this book was just fine for the 1970s. The troubled tummy part of this is geared to diets for post surgery, and specific conditions such as heart disease and ulcers. During the 1970s and into the 1980s, ulcers were believed to be caused by stress and overly spicy food. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that a course of antibiotics to kill the bacterium H. pylori. (The story of finding a “cure” for the peptic ulcer disease is a fascinating story.) This truly makes a good portion of this book obsolete by the late 1980s.